The Dawoodi Bohra Masjid has been a peaceful part of the northwest Harris County corner of Barker Cypress and West Little York for 20 years.
But for 10 days this month, it's bringing heavy traffic that seems to be testing the patience of some Coventry-area subdivision neighbors.
"It's crazy," said Dulce Pinon of the afternoon traffic tie up northbound on Barker Cypress. "I mean, they should do something about it I think."
The traffic mess is a combination of normal rush hour traffic and a steady flow of an estimated 20,000 registered attendees for a Houston Ashara at the Masjid E Mohammedi, the Bohra Muslim community's newest mosque built two years ago. The 10-day event, which is scheduled through Oct. 22, started with a visit from the worldwide spiritual leader of the Bohra Muslim community – the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.
"Essentially we are able to hear directly from his Holiness who imparts his knowledge face to face, if you will," said masjid spokesman Abeezar Tyebji. "There is going to be some logjams, so we apologize for that."
But to ease the frequency of logjams, Tyebji says they had substantial pre-planning with the help of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were hired for traffic control and security, more than 200 buses were contracted to bring in worshipers and limit the number of personal vehicles.
Coventry Park Drive and Langham Way Drive is restricted to one-way bus traffic, and two nearby protestant churches offered their parking lots as staging areas for shuttle bus traffic to and from the masjid.
"They have opened up their hearts and minds, and their parking lots really, and they've really helped out," said Tyebji.
"It was hard to get through the neighborhood," said Coventry neighbor Becky Davidson, who said the first day of the event, when the spiritual leader was in town, was clearly the most difficult traffic day.
She says taxis and tour buses sometimes take non-recommended routes and continue to come through the residential neighborhood instead.
"It was hard to get through. The taxicabs were coming through without stopping," she said, while also admitting the masjid has been a good neighbor during her 19 years living in the neighborhood.
"This year they have it organized a whole lot better than they did in 2001," she said of the last time the ashara was held in Houston.
"There are some folks who do get inconvenienced and we apologize for that. And we are frequently in touch with the persons of the HOA's so that we can make their lives easier," said Tyebji who is also a Houston-area businessman. "But really this is a wonderful Houston welcome. The Bohra community is part of the general fabric of this country. We are proud citizens of the United States. I don't know if in many parts of the world that this would be allowed to happen. But this is a great country and I say this not to just the media. But this is what I feel."
